I never start anything new on a Sunday or Monday. I feel like there is WAY too much pressure to both start a week and start something new. So, I decided to start my journey in the middle of the week and with a cupboard and fridge full of food.

I LOVE to eat, like really. I almost find it ritualistic. I like to sit down and cue up my favorite show, arrange food on my favorite plate or bowl, grab an iced cold drink and settle in. So, when I decided that I wanted to start this new way of eating, I had to make it pretty dang special.

My original plan was to go to the health food store. I live in a little town next to Boulder, CO, so I have about 5 natural grocery stores. But, my time was limited so I went to the local King Soopers.

And let me tell you, wow. Just wow. There were so many options! I have been walking by healthy food every other day and not even noticing it.

They have the food placed in these elite little sections of every aisle with a banner above it that says “healthy living.” Which is awesome! Mostly because

I don’t have the patience to read every single label. (Like, seriously, if it does not scream, “PICK ME I’M VEGAN” on the front label, I’m not going to see it

I had my littlest helper in the baby carrier and he will only tollerate me standing in one position for so long

So, here I am shopping for vegan food stuffs, and its totally easy. It was almost like an adventure. Once I turned down a new aisle, I quickly scanned it for the banner to see what they had for me to choose from.

Also, it wasn’t that expensive. Because, I’m going to be real for a moment. I’m a single mom of 3 kids, going to grad school, with no job… so, unless you weren’t paying attention, I’m on food stamps. Which makes shopping for good food HARD. But, I was able to get a lot of stuff for about $160.

Its been about 6 years since I started thinking about becoming vegan. After the birth of my second child, I started to think more about what I was putting in my body.

You see, I nursed both children for about two years. I did this because I believed in the benefits of breast milk and was really concerned about what was in the formula. After nursing, I am pretty laid back. I let my kids eat processed, oily, fatty foods. We eat out at least twice a week. Life is hard as a single mom and student, so if its cheap and easy its awesome.

My kids are blessed with good metabolism and are very active, which is why I didn’t worry about ice cream for breakfast or jelly sandwiches for dinner. But now I look at them while I’m nursing my third and I worry that I’m not being fair. I am giving the littlest all that he needs, but my older two are suffering.

So, I started looking into new dieting ways. Because, I am also not being fair to myself. I am still carrying extra weight from the baby and am always tired and irritable. I find myself having a lot of belly pains, and have been really unhealthy for a long time.